In a surreal moment last night, former President George W. Bush made a critical vocal slip-up while discussing Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. In a moment attempting to criticize Vladmir Putin, Bush said, “The decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean, of Ukraine.”

After the slip, Bush chuckled in a confused tone for a moment as audience members laugh politely, before he seems to say, “Iraq too, anyways.” He also attempted to justify the slip by saying “I’m 75,” an apparent reference to his old age.

The United States’ rationale for the invasion was based on unsubstantiated claims that the country was developing weapons of mass destruction, and some even accuse the Bush administration of fabricating the evidence to justify the invasion. A stockpile of weapons of mass destruction was never found in Iraq.

One hundred and fifty-one thousand Iraqi civilians were killed in the years-long invasion, according to an Iraqi study.

What’s even more shocking about the video is that Bush does not seem to backpedal from the statement. He has made statements expressing regret for the invasion in the past but didn’t take full responsibility for his administration’s role in it.

In an interview with ABC back in 2008, Bush called the biggest regret of his presidency, “the intelligence failure in Iraq,” and further added, “I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess.”

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